


His Feet Barely Touch the Ground (I Could be the Only Kiss He Could Ever Need)

by brassmama



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Art and Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-17
Updated: 2013-12-17
Packaged: 2018-01-04 22:59:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1086679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brassmama/pseuds/brassmama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The crush Steve has developed over the last few months on his fellow art classmate is a tad ridiculous. Bucky has a convoluted plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	His Feet Barely Touch the Ground (I Could be the Only Kiss He Could Ever Need)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MissHorrorshow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissHorrorshow/gifts).



> Title from the song "She said Maybe" by Steam Powered Giraffe, which was my soundtrack that got me over my lack of ideas. I hope you like the fic, Misshorrorshow.  
> Apologizes for any and all errors.

To say that Steve had a crush on Phil Coulson would be a huge understatement. Okay, so maybe not huge, but certainly an understatement. It was more of a longing… no, a yearning to see him every day. Steve understood that it was a little creepy, but it wasn’t like he was sneaking around taking photos of the Basketball captain or sending him anonymous notes.

Okay, so there was that one note, but it was Valentine’s Day. That is totally not creepy.

Steve would fess up to drawing Phil in art class. They were the only seniors in the class -Steve being a perennial art student turned mentoring assistant and Phil stuck in the class so that he’d have enough art credits to graduate- and the underclassmen tended not to want to be paired with the two. That’s probably where this ‘crush’ thing started to gain steam. Steve had had a flickering flame for Phil since they'd been Freshman and Steve had been paired with him in Earth Science (not his best subject) and Phil had been just attractively competent putting all the parts of the project together. It might have gone somewhere then, but after that semester, they never had another class together and art students don’t usually share social circles with sport stars like Phil (who made the winning shots on Varsity’s trek to the Championship). Steve had found other interests in that time, including his experimental relationship with Sharon Carter, but they both decided that they played for other teams. The flame had gone on the back burner.

Back in September, Phil had joined the intermediate art class on the last day available to change a schedule. Steve thought he was going to die of blushing when Mr. Phillips had asked him to show Phil around the studio. Steve probably made a fool of himself, but Phil didn’t say anything about it, just nodded along as Steve showed him where the different mediums were stored and where the cleaning station was, asking questions that showed that (surprising for a jock) he had been paying attention during the early explanation of the upcoming projects. The next week, Phil had sat himself down at the table Steve usually had to himself and they’d started having interesting conversations about the topics covered the previous day. Phil turned out to be a huge fan of minimalism. His artwork during the charcoal unit was strong strokes and Phil swore they were supposed to be birds. The watercolors were mostly attempts at bouncing basketballs.

Most of the other jock-types (with whom Steve couldn’t honestly include Phil) had given up on getting better than B minuses about a month in, but Phil fascinated Steve with how seriously he took the techniques they were learning and how much he tried to have fun with them when he figured he was great at them.

Steve looked forward to class every day, purely for seeing Phil. He also wasn’t looking forward to the end of the week, when Phil would be done with the class and Steve would be continuing to advanced art without anyone he knew.  

Thus, Steve found himself in the hallway, Bucky Barnes trying to set him up with another character from the JROTC. “No, Steve, don’t say no. This guy, Marcus, he’s great. You’ll totally jive with ‘im. Scouts honor.”

“Buck, you were never a boy scout.” Steve rolled his eyes, shifting things from his locker to his backpack. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to go to the silly winter dance. He’d really rather sit at home helping his mom with soup kitchen set up. Buck was his only friend that was going. (Well, other than Sharon and Peggy, Bucky was his only friend period.)

“Steeeeeeve. You’re not listening. Marcus and you will be fun together. He’s got this whole macho basketball player thing going on.” Bucky whined his name.

“I don’t even think I want to go. My mom is going to be busy prepping for the soup kitchen; she’d really love my help.” Steve closed the locker, spun the lock, and began walking toward, ugh, chemistry.

“Tell you what, me and Johnny Storm will go help your mom if you’ll go on this one date. If it doesn’t work out, I won’t try to hook you up with anyone else this year.”

“There’s only two weeks left in this year.”

“I won’t try to hook you up with anyone this year.”

Steve pause, he was going to regret this. “Show up at the house around seven to help Mom.”

 

Bucky threw his arms up in victory. “Have fun in math, Steve.”

* * *

 

Marcus was dribbling the ball lazily, while Phil set up the drill for the varsity team. He could tell Phil was stalling. Phil new that his friend had yet another plan for a blind date. Every time, Phil felt like gagging because Marcus and he had very different ideas of what was a good date. Most of it had to do with Marcus’ preference for women, and then to do with Marcus’ idea that gay guys who weren’t Phil must all be flamboyant up the ass.

Phil could tell the team was getting tired of his bullshitting, so he let them go and walked over to his co-Captain.

“Fine, Marcus, who’s the guy this time?” Phil grabbed his water.

“Bucky Barnes. One of those hot guys from the shop.” Marcus looked smug. He was hiding something.

“Wood or auto?” Phil turned away to watch the underclassmen run the drill. If Grant didn’t communicate better, he was going to get cut next year.

“Both. But after you complaints about the last guy, I figured I’d find you a ‘bear’.”

“Let me please forget you ever found out what that meant. And Barnes is definitely not gay. Did you seeing him hanging off Natasha Romanoff last week?” Phil blew on his whistle. “Ward, Fitz, pay attention to each other or you’re gonna break someone’s noes!”

“So, he’s bisexamorous-whatever. Still, he’s looking for a date to the dance this Friday, you need a date, problem solved.”

Phil sighed. Ideally, he’d probably ask Steve out, but he’d sounded like he was planning to help out his mother or something. Phil couldn’t stand to prevent that, especially with how important Steve’s mom is to the artists. His mom was the only non-art thing Steve had ever mentioned. Maybe he should try anyway, just to get Marcus off his back.

“Look, I had someone else in mind. If they say no, I’ll think about asking Barnes out, okay? Can we get back to drills?”

Marcus’ eye flared for a moment with panic. “No, I already got him set up with you through his friend. He doesn’t know that you’re the one showing up, but if you don’t show…”

 

“If it doesn’t work out, fine, I’ll do it, but seriously Marcus, this has got to stop.”

* * *

 

Intermediate Art is first period after homeroom. Steve was already trying to stop two of the sophomores from getting they’re clay project everywhere. Plus, Phil wasn’t there, which was weird since he hadn’t missed a day yet this quarter.

“Clint, put the clay down, go wash off. You’re gonna have to let this sit for a little before you can try again. You can’t be so harsh with the tools.” Steve wiped the clay of his shirt.

“Sorry Cap,” a moniker Steve had been bestowed after a day of joking about who’d be in charge of a hypothetical art club and Steve had been summarily elected the hypothetical ‘Captain’ of, “I didn’t realized I’d gotten the wheel turning that fast.” Clint shrugged, not really sorry for anything other than the mess that had gotten on Steve’s shirt.

Mr. Phillips was at the front of the studio starting to critique progress when Phil entered. Steve no longer felt bummed about the mess Clint had made.

“Sorry, Mr. Phillips, I really have no excuse. Just got caught up in a conversation.” Phil dropped the tardy slip on the teacher’s desk, near the recycling bin where Phillips would no doubt sweep it as soon as he made it back to his desk.

Steve sat down next his clay figure which was definitely a basketball player shooting a hoop and definitely not supposed to be Phil. Phil came over and stuff his bag in his cubby and pulled out his candle holder that he was making for his grandmother.

“Hi Steve.” Phil smiled at his table partner.

“Hey, Phil.” Steve had mastered being able to say simple sentences without blushing.

“So, I was kind of wondering what you were doing for the dance on Friday?” Phil asked without segue.

Steve blinked a moment. Why would Phil ask that? Just making conversation probably. “Uh, a friend is hooking me up with someone, so I got roped into going to the dance.” Steve very intensely stared at his project, adding details to the ball, not avoiding Phil’s eyes at all. If he had been looking, he would have seen Phil’s shoulders fall.

“Oh, with who? My friend was trying to do the same but I wasn’t really interested.” Phil had feared that Steve would have been asked out by someone else. He was super sweet and charming and anybody would want to be with his all American attitude.

Steve breathed deeply calming himself and trying to remember the name of the guy. He couldn’t, which he felt bad about, but he’d give himself that he was trying not to be flustered in front of Phil.

“Uh, a basketball player I think. Bucky knows him.”

“Bucky? As in Barnes? You’re friends with Bucky?”

Steve stopped what he was doing. Phil’s tone sounding scandalized. He knew that Bucky maybe was a bit trashy sometimes, but he’d thought Phil wasn’t someone to judge someone he didn’t know.

“What about it?” Steve knew his tone was defensive, as much as he tried to stop it.

Phil flinched. He hadn’t meant to come off as shocked as he had, but finding out your blind date was friends with your crush? Phil felt he could have a little slack.

“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to sound rude or anything, just that Marcus was trying to set me up with Barnes for the dance.”

“That’s stupid,” Steve scoffed, Bucky didn’t even like guys. “Bucky wasn’t going to dance. He’s helping out my mom since I agreed to his blind- wait did you say Marcus?”

Phil stared evenly with Steve. “I feel like I’m in one of those romantic comedies where friends have meddled and almost screw everything up.” What? He had two older sisters. He’d watched a few with them.

“Buck was setting me up with Marcus.” Steve looked a little gob smacked.

Yeah, Phil should have seen that coming. “Marcus never goes to the dances, besides he was going to be working that night.”

“I think our friends were trying to double blind us into dating each other.” Steve shook his head. “Moron.”

“Who?” Phil was kind of thinking that as well, about himself.

“Me. Bucky was way too easy to convince to help out in the soup kitchen.”

Phil and Steve stared at each other for another minute before Steve started laughing. Phil soon followed.

“This is so utterly ridiculous.” Phil gasped.

Steve nodded, nowhere near recovered.

“So, wanna go to the dance with me?”

“Sure.” Steve said when he finally got his breath back.

“Wanna got for a date on Saturday if that goes well?”

Steve, still laughing a little, didn’t answer for a minute. “Maybe, we’ll see how it goes.”

 

That would be good enough.

* * *

 

Bucky ended up ditching Jonny Storm to help Mrs. Rogers for an hour while he crashed the dance to dangle mistletoe over Steve’s and Phil’s heads. It was definitely ridiculous. And so was second quarter advanced art, which Phil had decided to take.

And Saturday, well, that was perfect.

 

Fanart to go with:


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